1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a meat tenderizer, and more particularly relates to a double function-hand operated meat tenderizer.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to generally accepted standards in the quality and tenderization of meats for consumption, the meat is preferably matured for a period of three weeks before it is allowed onto the market to be sold. During the maturation process, the connective tissue and meat react with natural enzymes and bacteria present in the meat, which leads to a partial tenderization of the meat and renders it fit for consumption. In order to shorten the time in which the meat matures, and to increase the tenderness of the meat, various methods are used. In one of these methods for tenderizing the meat, high temperature, light, or both, are applied to the meat which speeds up the reaction of the enzymes and bacteria in the meat.
A chemical-type tenderizing method has also been extensively used for tenderizing the meat. This method involves the addition of chemical substances that affect the connective tissue as well as the reaction of the meat to a chemical composition during treatment. While these processes have been somewhat successful on the market, two of the most important drawbacks in the chemical tenderizing method are high operating costs and loss of taste in the meat.
Another method of tenderizing meats is a mechanical-type tenderizing method, such as pounding or surface treating of the meat using a mallet-like instrument or piercing element blades. More particularly, many hand-operated mechanical meat tenderizers that are intended for home use are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 207,107 issued 1878; U.S. Pat. No. 1,047,346 issued 1912; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,841 issued 1980. The mechanical-type tenderizing method, that is based on the pounding of the surface of the meat with a tenderizing mallet not only cause loss of natural juices of the meat, but also tend to create sinewy lumps. In the mechanical method using long, thin knife blades, the blades repeatedly thrust in to the meat cutting through the connective tissues, but even after meats were tenderized using these blade tenderizers, the meat would not be tender. Further, the handle and the guiding movable plate of the meat tenderizer using a plurality of blades are easy to slip out of the user's hand or meat during the process of tenderizing the meat which was very dangerous for the user due to the sharp blades. In order to clean or replace the blades, the user needed to disassemble the tenderizer, but in certain cases the cleaning or the replacement of the blades of these tenderizers was quite complicated.